Shock and Collars- Discontinued
by FloofyFox
Summary: A new mass murder that is all prey leaves Zootopia in ruins. The ZPD are hot on the heels of the suspects, and the trail soon leads to an all predator activist group, which quickly gets things downhill. Now, with the mayor out of the job, and all the predators forced to wear shock collars, Judy is determined to clear their names, but will she be able to free them in time, or, ever?
1. Prologue

The day was dragging on, escpecially since Judy wasn't her normal, perky self, and that bothered Nick. Not that it was because he wanted to tease her, but just because his partner was usually the optomistic one in the pair, and if she was down, both of them were down, which did not help their work.

Thankfully Bogo seemed to realize this, and being his normal, sympthetic self (who was Nick kidding, Bogo was just feeling slightly better today) he let them go early, there being no cases. The pair had noticeably sighed at that, and after Bogo dismissed them, they made their way to their parked car.

Only as they arrived, Nick realized he forgot the keys, and just stood there, whistling.

"Nick, where are the keys?" Judy finally asked, after looking in her pockets.

"Ahh, I thought you had them?" he asked playfully, taking his sunglasses off.

"Nick, go back and get them. _Now_ ," and that he did, not wanting to make Judy any more angry than she was.

He raced up the stairs, mind flashing at where those darn keys were. He briefly remembered going to the interrogation rooms, where they held suspects in custody, and then remembered resting his jacket on a bench while he waited.

 _They must have fallen out_ , he thought, _well, I will just go there, seeing that I have no idea where they could be other than there._

So he made a sharp turn left, heading through a small hallway, over to the interrogation rooms, which, in his mind, temprorary jail.

He burst through the doors, startling Wolford who was right there. With a swift apology, Nick raced over to the room where he was last.

28, 29… 30!

There they are! Nick puffed out in relief, thankful Judy wouldn't have his neck after all. He turned around, when a suspect caught his eye.

She was being led in by McHorn, who seemed to be getting really irritated. She was another red fox like him, except a bit younger and with slightly darker fur, a bit shorter than him, a slightly white tip on her tail other than black, more black on her ears. Nick looked at her face, and realized with a start that she was muzzled, other than cuffed, her paws behind her back. She was also wearing a turquoise T-shirt, with dark blue jeans, and a dark grey hoody.

And she looked _furious_.

So, without thinking, he walked over to the two, just as McHorn had uncuffed the vixen, and thrown her into the cell.

"Ah, hey McHorn, how's it going?" Nick asked casually, walking over to the rhino, who turned around, "Listen, you seem tired, why don't you go have a break, I will interrogate this suspect, afterall, I don't have anything else to do,".

"Fine. But be careful, she's a sneaky one, sharp tongue. She was accused of conning a goat, mid-forties, into buying an IFur for two times the price. Try get the truth out, you may have more luck than I would," the large officer replied in a gruff voice, turning around to stomp away.

Nick gave a victory smirk as he watched the officer leave, and turned around to the young criminal.

He almost instantly regretted taking over, as he returned the vixen's harsh glare, her eyes narrowed, as she sat on a seat in the cell. Her tail was whipping around furiously, ears twitcing slightly, as Nick opened the cell to go in, resealing it.

"So, honey, what did you do to get in here?" he asked casually, sitting next to her.

"What's in it for you?" was all she said, still staring at him venomously.

"Huh, I am up against myself, aren't I? Ok then, let's start with your name," he asked, trying a different tactic as she instantly set up a wall for his previous question, "unless you want me to keep calling you names," Nick added with a smirk.

The vixen knew she was cornered, and answered him with a mutter.

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite hear that," Nick said with an exaggerated motion, bringing his hand up to his ear, leaning into the vixen a little.

"Pawera! Ruby Pawera," she replied, shouting a little as she dwindled. She turned her head around, so she didn't have to look at the startled fox.

"Hmm, classic fox name. Pretty,"

"I would change it if I could. Now since I have told you my name, don't I get to know yours? Not like I have the power here," she said, turning back, holding his gaze. Nick took note that her eyes may be brown, but they were really shiny and bright. Argg, focus Nick!

"Wilde, Nick Wilde," he replied, a bit soft, more gentle. He knew that when handling a girl he should be more gentle, escpecially the aggressive kind of woman.

Nick held out a paw, and after a few seconds, Ruby hesitantly held hers out and shook his.

"See, that wasn't hard. Now, maybe you could tell me why you were brought here in the first place," he said, pulling his paw back as she did the same. However, as he asked that, she was immediately defencive again, any gentleness gone in a flash.

"They accused me of conning an IFur, but I didn't! I sold it for the proper amount! And they muzzled me, for no reason! I, may have tried to bite an officer, actually…" she confessed, her silky ears going back.

"Mhmm. Well, to tell the truth, I used to be a con-artist too. I used to, con people into buying pawpsicles," Nick said, leaning back in the cell, as Ruby whipped to face him in astonishment.

"Really?! I mean, how did you manage to become a cop, after?" she asked, putting her guard back up quickly.

"Well, I did help solve the Night Howler case along with Judy," Nick replied casually, as a look of shock over came the vixen's face. Man, he loved those reactions the best of all.

"You helped in the Night Howler case! Wow…" Ruby said, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. All of her anger seemed to have faded. Perfect.

"Yes, but enough about me. Did or didn't you con that IFur," he asked, even though it was a bit sudden. He did feel guilty, though, as he watched her reaction from the corner of his eyes.

Poor vixen, she must have had the hard yards too.

"Ok, fine, I did. I just needed the money!" she confessed, crying out.

"Alright. You do realize that you will have to pay a fine, but after, you will be released. Thanks for actually telling me," Nick said, resting his hand on the vixen's shoulder.

"Yeah, well, you would understand a bit more tha those stupid oafs out there," Ruby said, giving a tiny smile, through the muzzle. Oh man, she still had the muzzle on!

"Here, since there is no use for this," Nick said, getting up and reaching for the muzzle buckle, and unbuckling it," I will take it off," the muzzle fell to the floor, making Ruby blink a couple of times to make sure.

"Thanks," the vixen said, looking up at the smirking fox.

"Yeah, don't mention it. There really is no use for this trash," he said, kicking it away, making Ruby give a little chuckle.

"I understand how freaky muzzles are, I had to deal with one once, and it was _not_ nice. Welp, I better get going. My partner is probably waiting for me, ready to kill me at about any second and-"

"Oh I _am_ ," a voice sounded, making both foxes freeze, with Nick still standing, and Ruby still sitting.

* * *

 **Yay I posted the first chapter! I admit, I have been busy lately, well. today, and I finally got around to starting it.** **Now don't worry, I won't go to far concerning Ruby and Nick, she is just there to help them.**

 **I know, I didn't say much in this first chapter, but it is getting started. I will write more about the actual crime in the next chapter, and will tie a few plot holes right up.**

 **So anyway, thanks for reading this first chapter, and please comment on any idea that you may have (I may or may not use them, so sorry about that), and any advice. Until next chapter, May the Carrots be with you!**


	2. A New Case

"Uh oh…" Nick murmured, turning around to face an outraged Judy Hopps, arms crossed, foot fratically tapping on the ground, an irritated look on her face.

This was going to be good…

"Hey, Judy! What's up? Ah, look, hey I found the keys!" he said, gesturing to the keys he held in his now outstretched paw. That didn't make Judy feel better.

"Nick Wilde, I have been waiting for you for an hour! An _hour_! I had to track you through the whole ZPD, until Wolford told me when I ran into him! What were you thinking!?"

"That, McHorn was not going to get anywhere with my kind, or for that fact any other officer?" he said, coughing as his voice squeaked a bit, making Ruby smirk.

"We are off work!"

"So? Poor McHorn couldn't handle this innocent vixen, so I jumped in and helped. Talk about good Samaritans…" Nick joked, making Ruby raise an eyebrow, as Judy kept tapping her foot.

"You are coming to the car. Now!"

"Gees, anger issues," Ruby muttered under her breath, as Nick sighed and turned around to say goodbye. There was regret for him in leaving such a beauti- innocent vixen, to fend for herself.

"You'll be fine here? I can always get them to just make you pay the fine and then let you leave?" Nick suggested, which unnerved Ruby.

"I'll be fine, no one can touch me," she replied boredly, making Nick smirk.

"Alright then, I better get going now. Before the bunny bomb blows," he said, whispering the last sentence under his breath, making Ruby grin.

"Nick!" with that, he departed, closing the door.

"Ok, but first I gotta go get this info. to Clawhauser," he said turning to the still angry bunny.

"Fine," she huffed, as the walked out of the interrogation rooms, leaving a curious vixen behind.

 _Boy, that was interesting_ , Ruby thought, as Nick's tail disappeared through the door.

* * *

The pair had quickly gotten the information to Clawhauser, who obliged to pass it on to the head of interrogations.

They then left the building, getting into the car, buckling in. Judy took the drivers seat, as Nick buckled into the passengers seat, then leaning back crossing his arms behind his head, happily whistling as Judy reversed out the car park.

"What are you so happy about?" she asked, slightly irritated at her partner's sudden change in mood.

"Oh, nothing," he answered, starting to whistle a different tune. It was 'Can you Fur the Love Tonight' *.

Then it hit her.

He liked that vixen.

"You like that criminal, don't you?" he asked without hesitation, still focusing on the road.

"Criminal? That's harsh. You didn't call me that, did you? Her name is Ruby Pawera, a vixen, a con-artist. And yes, I do like her," Nick said, completely straight forward.

Judy felt a twinge of jealousy at first, not wanting anyone else to have Nick's affection or attention, not wanting someone to be closer to him than she was. But then, she realized how selfish that was, and knew that if she liked someone, Nick wouldn't try and hold her back, although he may be jealous too.

So, she let her jealousy go, and decided to cover it with some jokes.

"She is pretty. Her fur is almost brighter than yours, and that white tip is pretty unique," Judy smirked, looking over at Nick, who's ears were back in embarrassment, and who she could tell was blushing like mad, as some sweat started to saturate his fur.

"Y-yeah,"

"Ha! Gotcha!"

"Oh, knock it off Carrots," he managed to mumble without stuttering, ears twitching further back as he rested his chin on the palm of his hand, with his elbow resting against the sill of the car window. He was now staring out, whistling dwindling until he stopped.

"Hmm, imagine how cute your kits would look! I would be their Auntie, right?" she kept on teasing, thoroughly enjoying it, as Nick sunk further into his chair.

"Please, rabbit,"

"And you would have lots of them, too! You would invite me to help babysit them, and I would secretly have a favourite called George. He would be-"

"CARROTS PLEASE!"

"Ok, ok, just saying," she said, smirking at him as he leaned into the seat, staring at the road in front of them. Judy was actually liking the fact that they could be uncle and auntie to each other's kids, and as she kept carrying on the more and more her jealousy left her, until it was replaced wth pure happiness.

She was about to say more about George, when the news suddenly came on to the radio. They would've ignored it if the 'mass murder of just prey' didn't fill their ears. The pair glanced at each other in alarm, and Nick quickly turned the volume up.

 _'Breaking news,_ ' the radio voice said, ' _a mass murder has just occurred in Tundratown, all concerning of all prey victims. The ZPD is now there at the scene, hunting down any evidence of the murderers. With over twenty victims dead, and five critically injured, Zootopia wonders who would dare to do this, so close after the Night Howler incident. The detectives claim there is not much evidence other than an assortment of predator footprints, mainly coyotes, found at the scene of the crime. We await further evidence, and will report back when the ZPD contact us,'_

 _'Please stay tune for Jeremy Vole's classics, and the weather back at 6,'_

Then the radio changed, playing some old classical music, as the pair stared at the radio in silence, waiting for the light to change.

"A mass murder…" Judy finally managed to whisper out in a croaky voice, stepping on the car to pull over.

"Over twenty dead, and five critically injured…" Nick whispered back, equally stunned.

"But, only evidence and suspects is of an all predator party? This doesn't seem right. It's just like the Night Howlers. Someone has to be framing-" Judy started, only to be interrupted by Nick.

"No one, has been framed yet. We can only be sure when the evidence leads to someone or something in particular,"

"Your right. We better get home, and rest up. I have a feeling Chief Bogo will want us hands on in this case tomorrow," and with that, she looked at her partner, who returned her nod. Without another word, she sped off towards their apartment.

* * *

And they were right. As soon as the arrived at work the following morning, Bogo reported them to go to his office after their daily morning meeting.

"Alright. Wilde, Hopps, you have most likely heard of the murder, correct?" he asked as they all sat down, receiving a brief nod from the force's best officers.

"Good. Then, you won't need much more information. You two were obviously the ZPD's first choice to go out on the scene. Go out there, and find out who killed those prey. Here are the files," he said, throwing them on the table in front of the two cops.

"You can look at them in your office, and when you are done, you can set out to start this case. Good luck, officers. The force is counting on you," he said, saluting to them as they left the room, files in hand.

The pair immediately made their way to their office, as Judy grabbed the folder, starting to flick through the files, looking for any hint, any clue of the mass murder. The bunny sat on her seat as Nick drew his up to her desk, so they could look through the files together.

"Well, apparently it occurred in Polar Avenue, near the shopping centre in Tundratown. That should be where we look for clues first," Judy said, hopping off her seat quick as a flash, only to be yanked back by Nick by the back of her collar, effectively stopping her with a squeak.

"Hold on there tiger, we need to think here. Why would there be a mass murder?" Nick said, as Judy pulled his paw off of her. She wrinkled her nose in irritation at his question.

"Uh, cause some psycho wanted to prove a pointless point?"

"Not so pointless," Nick murmured, looking at a particular picture in the folder. It was a picture of the crime scene before everyone was cleared, and in it, a slight blur of polar bear bulk. As the pair examined it more, they realized that next to the picture there was a note about a polar bear being one of the witness'.

"Does he look familiar to you?" Nick asked, fingering the photo as Judy brought out her magnifying glass, covering the piece of grey white smudge in the picture.

"Yeah, he looks like one of Mr. Big's bodyguards!" the bunny cried in recognition, bouncing a little in her seat.

"That's where we'll go first, Nick. He's out first witness!" she said, jumping down onto the floor and racing to the door, with an amused but excited Nick in tow.

"Come on, we have to hurry, we need to crack this case before the suspects are one for good!" Judy cried over her shoulder, as Nick started to run after his partner, as the little blur of grey fur started to sprint to their car.

"Right behind ya Cottontail. And you know you don't need to run, right? We have more than 48 hours now! CARROTS!" Nick shouted as Judy slipped through the other police officers, disappearing from the fox's sight. Nick chuckled, as he heard his partner's voice above the hum of the crowd.

"This case isn't going to solve itself!"

Gees, Nick will never be able to understand that bunny's enthusiasm, never in his day. Not until he either died, or she told him.

* * *

 **Hello, yes I updated! I must admit, I had a burst of energy and wrote A LOT tonight, and, yeah. So anyway, I hoped you liked this chapter, and I had fun writing the 'George' scene ;) so yeah, I hoped you enjoyed it more than me.**

 **And I will get to the Shock Collars bit soon, maybe after one ore chapter. I will try not to go on and on with this story, but yeah, I need to get cracking.**

 **Until next time, this is the possum signing out. Carrots!**

* * *

 ***Now I know that you intent watchers of Zootopia would have realized the alternate version of Can you feel The Love Tonight' was something like 'Can you Feed the… tonight'. No, I don't know the whole thing, because 1 Judy's paw blocked it on her IFur, and 2 I changed it because I needed something romantic-ish.**


	3. An Old Aquaintance

Judy was driving full speed, sirens blaring, as Nick held on for dear life.

It was nearly night time, and Mr Big wasn't open to just anyone when he was angry. Plus, he looked his gates just in case anyone tried to 'steal' from him. Like there was anything to steal.

They pulled up at the gates, with Nick half alive, nearly unstuffing the car seat, eyes as wide as saucers.

Judy sped out at rocket speed, slamming the door shut. Nick only just got out in time before Judy locked him in the car with no hope of escape.

"Carrots, you're going to kill me with your speed!" he cried, puffing as he caught up with his best friend, leaning against his knees as his tail swept the dust. Still panting, he looked up at Mr Big's door, then at Judy, who bounced up and rang the doorbell. She landed back down in great precsion, then looked up at her partner sweetly, raising one of Nick's eyebrows.

The fox stood up after recovering from his mad sprint, tucking his paws into his pant pockets, looking up as they waited for someone to answer.

And someone did, and it was Mr Big's biggest bodyguard. He stood there at the door, staring down at the two officers. His expression seemed to be saying _what do you want now_?

However Judy wasn't intimidated, as she smiled up at the gigantic creature.

"Hi, I'm Officer Judy Hopps, we've met before? I just want to ask Mr Big a few questions, nothing bad, I just need to know something,"

"He, isn't in trouble or anything, don't worry," Nick added, and the polar bear finally nodded, stepping to the side, allowing them to walk in. As soon as they did, he closed the door, bolting it shut. Nick jumped slightly at the sound of the door slamming, but Judy tugged him by the paw, making him calm down slightly as he remembered the bunny was there.

The two walked down the hallway, back into the room where Judy had first met Mr Big, and then again when they had nearly iced Weaselton. _Good times_ , Nick chuckled, as they stopped in front of the desk, where Mr Big was satuated. The tiny shrew looked up at them in slight surprise, as Judy stepped forward. They had agreed that she would do the talking, just in case Nick did or said something stupid, and the fox had much abliged, since he wasn't in the mood for angering Mr Big yet again, only because he had just got away with the skunk rug incident.

"Hello, Mr Big. Sorry to disturb you, but we have a couple of questions to ask about the massacre that has just occurred of the all prey mass murder? We would really appreciate it,"

"Of course, anything for my grand daughter's godmother," the small shrew replied with a brisk nod, slightly nicer than per usual.

"Thank you! Ok, so may I please start with asking if you know who this may be?" Judy asked, hopping right to it. She held up the picture of the polar bear near the massacre, and Mr Big leaned in, examining the picture with mild interest.

"He seems to be wearing one of your body guard outfits, and we were wondering if you could identify who it could be,"

"Ah, yes, 'e seems to be one of my newest bodyguards. Ah, Bergson, Alfred Bergson, that's it. Frisco, bring the young lad in and we can ask him," the shrew directed to the nearest polar bear, who nodded, and disappeared through the back door, probably to fetch Alfred. Judy grinned in anticipation, looking back at Nick who nodded in approval, paws, as usual, tucked in his pockets, the sly smirk on his face. Judy shook her head in amusement, as she turned back to Mr Big.

"So, do you have any idea why he was there, at the mass murder? Not that he could have been behind it, of course!" Judy asked, adding the last bit hurridly as not to offend Mr Big, but the shrew didn't seem to be.

He trusted the bunny.

"V'well, on the day, I had sent Alfred to go get some groceries, and he went, ove course. He is a very loyal servent, but when he went, the news flash came up. I was scared to death of what could have happened to him, but he reported back alive, which was relieving. But I do not know what the lad saw, just that he had witnessed a goat being slaughtered right in front of him. That was enough for me to stop questioning him, since he must 'ave been scarred at that," Mr Big ended, shaking his head sadly.

"I feel so sorry for all those prey, but I do not suspect that it was a predator that did it," Judy finished scribbling down Mr Big's version of the story, and looked up from her notepad. Nick walked up next to her, and looked down at the notes.

"So, you don't know if Alfred saw any of the murderers?" the fox questioned, looking up at the shrew questioningly.

"No, I did not. I could not bear to put him through that much torment, and I don't think I he would have told me, he was scared mute. You will 'ave to ask him yourself,"

"Ok, will do," the fox nodded, as his ears pricked up. The polar ear from before, Frisco, entered with asmalled polar bear beside him, who was glancing everywhere nervously. Upon seeing Nick and Judy, he gave a short sigh of relief, although he still seemed a bit tense.

This must be Alfred.

"Alfred, I'd like you to meet Nick and Judy. They are here to question you about the mass murder you witnessed, so tell them everything you know, ok?" Mr Big said, gesturing to the two cops before him. The young polar bear nodded his head thoroughly, and walked over to the two quickly.

"So, I will leave you to it. I have some, matters I need to tend to. I hope you find what you are looking for, rabbit, and if there is anything else you need, you know where I am. Nick," he nodded at the fox, who looked down at him, "take care, and don't go selling young Alfred any skunk rugs, eh?"

Nick laughed nervously at that, as he glanced at the young polar bear, "Of course, sir, I won't,"

"Good. Ok, I will be going now. Until next time, dear friends, until next time," the crime boss nodded, as Frisco picked his tiny chair up. The to exited the room, along with all the other polar bears, leaving only Nick, Judy and Alfred, who turned back to the two top cops.

"So what d'you want to know?" he asked, drawing a chair over and sat down. Judy scanned over him, as she wondered how old he was. The polar bear was young, but still twice as big as Nick, with creamy fur, just a bit more yellow than the average polar bear. He wore the normal Mr Big bodyguard suit.

"Well, first off, did you see the murderers?"

"Umm…" the polar bear hesitated, looking down at the ground as he seemed to think the question over.

"I did, see some shadows… disappearing after that goat was slaughtered…."

"Do you know how the animals were, killed?" Nick asked, as the polar bear looked back up. Judy nodded, ushering the young bear to go on, as she quietly congratulated Nick for the choice in question. He definetly was the best partner she could ever have.

"They were killed in an amount of ways. Some were killed through thrown knives, others by being strangled through metal wires. It was mayhem, just like the traps were set up just for that reason! But the most common killing weapon was guns. There were so many bullets flying everywhere! But the strange thing was, even if it was in a shopping centre, all of the predators seemed to have an invisible bubble protecting them, which was quite weird. It was like the murderers were trying to prove a point, but I don't know what it was! It was also weird how the all predator activist group were outisde with a protest about the food for predators, and how all of the weaponary seemed to be coming from their direction! I couldn't really see much, but I did see a kind of wolf-like shadow on the ceiling beams, but I couldn't be sure," the polar bear concluded, looking up at the two cops as he concluded his explanation.

"On the beams, you say?" Nick asked thoughtfully, looking up at the ceiling, "Where, exactly, on the ceiling?"

"Oh, it was near the fruit produce section, where I was getting some herbs for Mr Big's big banquet," Alfred confirmed, nodding again as he remembered.

"The fruit produce section… Got that, Carrots?" the fox asked, looking down at the bunny who had just finished writing.

"Yup, all down,"

"Well, we have some carrot shopping to do, Alfred. Thanks for the info, it has been a big help!" Nick cried, as he put his paw out to shake the polar bear. Alfred shook Nick's paw, which hurt slightly, since the polar bear's grip was so strong, making Nick wince slightly.

"Oh, so glad I could help!"

"Yeah, we better get going, thanks Alfred!" Judy said, tucking her notebook into her belt, where it clicked into a clip.

"Thanks again, say my best wishes to Mr Big and Fru Fru!" and with that, the cops were off, with quite a big lead, as they sprinted out the room and into the hallway. They ran up, and exited the giant mansion, where they hopped into their car.

"Well, it isn't too far, at least," Judy reasoned, as she buckled herself in, and started the engine. Nick nodded in approval.

"Yeah, and Fluff?"

"Hmm?"

"Can we get some blueberries while we're at it?"

"Nick, this is no time-"

"Please?"

"Fine, but only _after_ the case is solved,"

"Yes!" the fox cried, as they started to drive out of the driveway, and out on to the street.

"Next stop, Tundratown's Main Shopping Centre,"

* * *

 **Hey everyone, I updated, yay! So, sorry for not updating in FOREVER, but I have been quite busy lately, and up to my neck in life. But now I am free and am going to write as much as I can!**

 **So I hope you enjoyed this, and don't worry, the collars are coming!**

 **Poor Alfred, I feel sorry for torturing him by making him experience that, but sacrifices have to be made. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and until next time, Carrots!**

 **P.S The mystery will begin next chapter, I swear on my tail!**


	4. High Flying Leads

"Here we are, Tundratown's Shopping Centre," Judy said, as they came to a halt in front of the store. It had been cleared out by the detectives, that they knew, but they most likely hadn't checked the beams. That the two had to give credit for, since it was quite clever to do it from the ceiling than on the ground where there could have been evidence left, like a tuft of fur or a piece of material.

"Hmm, do you think this place is haunted?" Nick asked, as they got out of the car. The fox shut the door quietly, probably so he didn't 'disturb' the dead.

"Of course not, I don't believe in ghosts, and neither should you," Judy said, as they walked up the stairs. The place had been sealed off, obviously, so that no evidence could be disturbed, and the place ruptured.

"Well, in Zootopia anyone can be anything, and animals can believe in ghosts, so I, for one, prefer to be safer than sorry," Nick explained, as they reached the top of the stairs, and stared up at the giant door.

It had to be big, since the polar bears had to fit in to get in. It was Tundratown after all, and no animal should be forgotten. Judy reached over to the door handle hesitantly, and slowly inched forward, with Nick following in pursuit as her paw ghosted over it. She may not believe in ghosts, but this place was quite creepy, and it didn't feel safe. It really needed a make over at some point, and the freezing temperature made it feel even spookier, making the bunny feel like, maybe-

"You know what you're now a cop so you can do this," she said, zooming behind Nick's slim frame and pushing him over to the door. The fox rolled his eyes as he remembered when the two had found the savage animals and busted Lionheart in keeping the captive, and when he had forced Judy to open the door since she was 'the cop'.

"Alright, I deserve it," he said, opening the handle and pushing the door open with a creak.

The two breathed as they looked at the crime scene in front of them. Bullet marks and holes scourged the place, tipped aisles and discarded food supplies scattered, knife cuts and blood stains coating the benches and marble flooring. The two cops walked in, leaving the door wide open, just so it wasn't completely dark, so Judy could see. And just so it wasn't so freaking creepy.

"Holy mother of blueberry pie, this really was a massacre," Nick said, running his finger over one of the bullet marks. Judy nodded in agreement, as she flipped her torch out and scanned the tipped over aisle opposite her partner.

"No kidding. I'm pretty sure an aisle this big would've killed about half a dozen victims as the actual bullets,"

The two kept scouring throughout the shopping centre, Nick shivering as at one point his paw touched a sticky bit of blood. The fox gagged at the thought and instantly swept his paw on the clean part of the floor, as he flinched again.

"Hey Nick!"

Said fox whipped around as he saw Judy ushering him into another part of the market. The vulpine hesitated, as he finally followed, tail inching a little upwards as he was still wary of the blood on the ground.

"What did you find Carrots?"

"The fruit produce section," Judy replied, as Nick came to stand beside her.

The bunny shown her light around the place, and sure enough pieces of fruit on the ground told them they had found the allocated destination that Alfred had set for them. Nick sniffed, nose to the air, as his eyes adjusted to the darkness of the ceiling beams. A thought suddenly occurred to him as Judy started looking under an apple crate.

"How are we going to get _up_ there in the first place?"

"Umm," was all she said in reply, as the bunny looked up at the beams. They were quite high, considering this place was created so it could hold an animal the size of a polar bear, and they were no where near tall enough to grab hold, even if they were to climb on top of each other.

"We'll have to…"

"What? Grow wings and magically fly up there with the magic of blueberries and carrots?" Nick said sarcastically as he glared up at the beams, walking up to Judy. As if it were their fault for being so high.

"No, find a way. Somehow…" she said, looking around uncertaintly, as Nick stared unimpressed at her, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Somehow,"

"Like…"

"Come one, Carrots, the clock is ticking!" he drawled, as the fox walked up to some over discarded crates, Judy's eyes following him in irritation.

"I'm not the only one with brains here!"

"Flattered you noticed, sweetheart. Really I am," Nick cooed over his shoulder, as Judy walked up to him and the tipped crates, which seemed to be one and a half metres high.

"Well get working then!"

"Already figured it out, fluff. Watch and learn, Carrots, watch and learn," Nick said to her, as he started to stack crates up like building blocks. Judy's eyebrow rose in confusion, and then she frowned as the plan made sense.

"Nick, that's not the best thing to learn,"

"Nope, you're right. It isn't something you can learn, you need brute strength," he huffed, as the vulpine pushed another crate on top of the other two with his back, as he shoved with all his might. Judy sighed at Nick's show, and started to walk up to him as he finally managed to get the crate up on top.

"That's not what I meant. Get down from there, you're gonna hurt yourself!" Judy cried up at him as Nick saluted down at her, then turned his attention back to the ceiling as he crouched precariously on top of his crate building. His eyes narrowed as he locked in his destination, and then, he jumped, legs catapulting himself onto the nearest beam to him. Judy could have sworn her heart stopped, when Nick just _barely_ managed to snag a two claws in the wood, and then proceeded to pull himself, resting on his stomach and then pushing himself up with his arms, turning around to sit on it, legs dangling, smiling victoriously at his partner who was just about ready to drop dead in a heart attack faint.

"NICHOLAS WILDE!" she yelled finally getting over the shock, up at the smirking fox, who was swinging his legs as if he were a small kit on a playground. But at that yell, he flinched a little, ear twitching back anxiously at what Judy was going to do next.

The young doe practically had steam coming out of her ears as she climbed the crates, clawing her way up as if on a murder mission. Nick gulped as she stood upright on top of the tower of crates, glaring up at him as she crouched down, tail even twitching a little in anticipation. Nick's eyes widened at what she was about to do.

"Now, Fuzz, let's not get hasty! This beam won't be able to hold us both. Hehe…" his chuckle dwindled off as she launched herself, nearly straight at him.

With a gasp, Nick clawed the side of the beam, pulling himself out of the way _just_ as Judy landed right where he was, clawing her way up and trying to get a hold. Unfortunately, she didn't have sharp claws like Nick did, since she was a rabbit, and her puffy paws didn't even have big pads, so she slide down the beam, scrambling as she tried to haul herself up. Instead she found herself falling, and closed her eyes as a gasp was heard from next to her.

But she never met the ground. Actually, she never even felt the wind of falling. The bunny slowly opened her amethyst orbs to see that she was floating in mid air. _How-?!_

Her question was answered when she turned her head, to find Nick holding onto her with white knuckles on her collar, wide eyes meeting her dumbfounded ones. He had his tail wrapped around the beam like a monkey, giving him anchor as he leaned as far as he could off of the beam. The fox breathed a shaky sigh of relief as he hauled the small rabbit up next to him, dragging her into a sitting position.

"You, _really_ need to be more careful, Carrots. You could have gotten yourself killed," he said, patting her on the back gently as Judy calmed down her beating heart.

"Yeah-h. Look who's talking," she joked, a little hysterically if anything. She coughed, as she stood up, leaning against a vertical pole for purchase.

"Thanks,"

"No problem, fluff. We don't want any other deaths here, or else this shop is going to be sold out on health cover and coffins, he…" he laughed, as his legs swung on either side of the beam.

"Well, let's get investigating," she said, not loosing a moment as she took a small torch out of her pocket. Nick looked at it curiously, as he pulled his legs up so he was leaning on all fours, so he had more grip, and more chance to live, instead of dying. He started to walk across the beams like a spider, glancing every now and again over at Judy, who was following him in a similar fashion, torch in her teeth.

Nick led the way to an intersection of the beams, so it was a bit safer for them to investigate. He looked down to make sure they were still in the fruit prodice section, and that they were. Judy puffed a little at the effort it was to even keep her balance, let alone keep up with Nick who seemed to be scaling the beams like Spider-Mammal.

"Mnick, vwat!"

"Huh? What did you say, Carrots?" he asked, stopping to look over his shoulder inquiringly at his friend, who sat down in a puffing state, taking the torch out of her mouth so she could take in gulping gasps of breath.

"I said, Nick wait," she replied, after five seconds of heavy breathing.

"Oh…" was all the fox said, as they sat there, with Judy finally catching her breath.

"I just had to catch my breath,"

"Really? Where was it going? To an asthma patient?" Nick joked, receiving a glare from his partner.

"This is no time to joke around, Nick. We have to find some more clues!" she cried, as he stared at her unimpressed.

"Says the top-fit-cop bunny who can't even keep up with a fox on a simple beam!" he retorted, making Judy sigh. He had her there. But she honestly didn't know why it was so hard to keep up.

"Well, I just. I can't keep my balance! I keep feeling like I'm going to fall of one side of the eam, so I lean to the other side, but then I nearly fall off there and it takes eighty percent of my energy to even stay on!" she rambled, as Nick's expression turned thoughtful.

"I mean, I don't even know how you do it! You seem as if it is the most natural thing for a fox!"

"Well, it actually isn't, but I'll tell you a trick, a little secret of mine. Put your tongue on the roof of your mouth,"

"What?! How does that-?"

"Just trust me. It helps!" Nick cut in, looking her in the eyes, dead serious. Judy squinted back, almost trying to see if he was lying.

But he wasn't.

So with a sigh, she did as she was told, and with a nod, Nick resumed walking on the beam, off to the intersection. Judy followed, at first a bit timid, but then grew confident as her balance increased, until soon she was nearly shoving Nick off the edge. It did work!*

"This is so great, I never knew this would actually work!" she cried at Nick, who smirked over his shoulder.

"See? No use comes from doubting Nick the great," he chuckled as Judy snorted behind him. They had finally made it. And both were in perfect health, no puffing or sweating.

Nick started to sniff around, making sure that as he stood up on two paws that he placed his tongue extra tightly on the roof of his mouth. He sniffed right, then left, as his night vision kicked in and he started to make up another hidden crime scene. There were actually dents and nicks (pun intended through himself) in the wood, from bullet holes. And the only way that they were in that exact area was that the bullets were fired from that place, which would show the murderers were on the top of the beam!

"Hey Carrots, the there are bullet holes here. There are notches in the wood, that seemed to have been from guns. That means that-"

"They were shot from here!"

"Exactly! Because there were no other places in the wood we traveled across that suggested bullets being fired, but here, it's as if it was a main target," Nick said, leaning down and moving a claw across the scars in the wood.

"There everywhere," Judy agreed as she stood beside her friend, which was squatting right above the middle of the intersection. Suddenly a groaning sound started, and Judy's ears pricked up at the sound. It may be too small for Nick, but it was not to small for her sonic rabbit ears.

"Nick, we should go,"

"Hey look, it's a tuft of fur! It's another clue!" the fox said, suddenly distracted, as he weaved his way over to a grey-ish black-ish looking strand of fur. He picked it up in two claws, and stroked it, as he brought his finger up near his noes to sniff it.

"It smells like-"

"Like, right now, Nick! We have to go, now!" Judy cried at him, as the groaning increased until Nick's ears twitched at it.

"Hey that sounds like the wood is-"

" _Now Nick!_ " Judy screamed at him, as she started sprinting for the beam they had come from, at fall speed, scaling it like a marathon runner. Nick scrambled up at started sprinting full speed after his friend. Well, as fast as you can go on beams.

 _Beams that are_ breaking _!_ Nick thought frantically as he heard a piece of wood snap behind him, and gave a yelp as the beams beneath him started to give way. Judy had already made it to the safe beams, thankfully, but Nick was worried he wouldn't make it. Okay, worried, _complete_ understatement, as he was more of terrified of that possibility. Judy whipped around to see where her partner was, and her eyes widened as she saw the piece of wood he was on completely gave way. She gasped as Nick launched himself over to where she was standing, but they both knew he wouldn't make it.

The fox yelped again as he was airborne, clawing the air as if he could move in the air like he could in water. The only problem, he didn't actually _move_ very far, as he started plummeting on to the cold hard sea of tile floor below him. His eyes squeezed shut in an instinctive reaction, but suddenly his flailing claw snagged something.

He gripped it as hard as he could, mistaking it for wood, but his eyes flew open as a strangled gasp was emitted from the 'wood'.

In reality, it was actually Judy's arm, and he was digging in so tightly he had drawn a bit of blood. Thankfully the bunny had been able to catch Nick's left paw, but there were consequences, she realized, as his claws dug into her skin. But she bit back the pain as she yanked him to safety, both of them panting maniacally as if they had run a hundred metre sprint.

"Well, I think that's enough squirrel re-enacting for, I don't know, _ever_?" Nick laughed after he caught his breath, making Judy chuckle.

"Yea-" Judy stopped dead.

There was a crack.

With wide eyes, the two friends looked down, hoping it wasn't what they thought it was. Judy looked up at Nick, who looked up at Judy. All she got to say was "sweet cheese 'n crackers!" before the beam they were lodged on cracked, and they plunged down into the fruit section below.

* * *

 **Hehe, sorry Nick, Judy. Ehm, no beam would have, in reality, been safe, so yeah... that just happened all on its own. He he...**

 **Anywho, on contraire,** ** _Guest_** **, I DID update again, and made this as long as I could. THERE WAS MYSTERY IN THERE I SWEAR YOU JUST HAVE TO LOOK HARD ENOUGH!**

 ***duck to avoid books and fruit being thrown***

 **Hey look, a Blueberry! *Eats blueberry***

 **Ehm, sorry I was hungry. Anyway, hope you enjoyed my little action packed high flying leads, and yeah, I tried to put as much shock humour in it, just because this is called 'Shock' and Collars. Get it? The shock, shock humour, even if it means Shock _collars_ and yeah, the metaphor. Ehm, yeah I know that was sad. Worth a try, no?**

 **Okay, yeah no.**

 **Alright, hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I am TRYING to do this as quick as I can, but I also have my Tail of Wilde Times demand and yeah, it's a HIGH demand.**

 **Until next chapter, Carrots!**

* * *

 ***Fun Fact, this actually does improve your balance! Seriously, try standing on one foot and then put your tongue to the roof of your mouth. It helps hugely. How do you think I win balance competitions? With pure luck? Ok, that is part of it… But it still helps!**


	5. Case Cancelled

"Arghh," Judy moaned, as she sat up and rubbed her throbbing head. She looked beside her to an equally battered Nick, who's left leg was shaking slightly.

Judy instantly feared the worst as she scrambled up to go and inspect Nick's paw, that he couldn't seem to place on the ground, hissing every time it touched something or something touched it. Nick whimpered a little as he leaned on a crate, and then tried to pull himself up.

His friend rushed to his side as she looked down at his paw, inspecting first for any blood, and then for any awkwardly placed bones. But thankfully everything was fine. Well, all except for his muscles, which seemed to have been pulled up and strained near his ankle, which didn't seem to be what they were meant to do.

"Does it hurt when I touch here?" Judy asked, gently poking it, receiving a small whimper from the fox.

"Yes, a little. I think I can walk though," he replied, as Judy stood back up and took his arm, placing it over her shoulders, hauling him up so his left paw was supported, and that his right paw took more of the weight.

"Alright, well we'll have to get back to the ZPD," she said optimistically, receiving and eye roll from Nick.

"Hey what about you?" he asked suddenly, remembering her arm. Nick looked down, and sure enough there was a reasonably deep wound in Judy's right arm, blood staining her blue uniform scarlet, seeping slowly out. There wasn't much blood, but it still made Nick wince in the guilt of causing it in the first place.

"Oh I'll be fine. Besides," she said, cutting Nick off as she saw the fox starting to rebel against her decisions, "at least _I_ can walk. You, on the other hand, or, ehm, _foot_ , need a _little_ more help," she laughed, as Nick rolled his eyes at her, as the two made their way out of the store.

"Wait!" Nick cried, remembering something, "what about the evidence? We actually need some to give to the ZPD!"

"Well, I actually _do_ have some evidence. Right here," Judy said, patting her pocket with her free paw. However, this only got a confused look from the fox, one ear falling as the other perked up, as his head cocked to the side.

"In my phone, dumb dumb," she said, rolling her eyes in turn at his confused expression.

"Oh,"

"Pictures, of the bullet marks! And also, an exit way that was right behind you. I just got snap before the beams, err, snapped," she explained, as Nick pushed the door open, since he had more free arm way. He nodded at that explanation, but then thought of another question.

"When did you take your phone out?"

"Nick, you _seriously_ weren't paying attention?"

"No, I was distracted by- by something," he ended, as Nick couldn't actually remember what he had been distracted by. Must have been a knock to the head, he thought warily, as he shook his head, as if he could jingle the explanation out somehow.

"Something," Judy deadpanned, as they made it to the car, and the bunny helped the red fox into his seat, Nick easing himself in gently, careful not to disturb his paw.

"It'll come to me," he sighed, as Judy hopped into the driver's seat, switching on the engine.

"Mhm, tell me when it does,"

"Ok," he replied, leaning into the car seat as Judy started to drive.

About ten minutes passed and Nick hadn't said anything annoying or snarky, which was starting to worry Judy a little. It wasn't like him to be this silent, especially whilst they were driving. She glanced over at her friend who was staring out the window, a mallow look on his face, which scared Judy. Quite a lot, to be honest.

So when she hit the brakes at some lights, Judy turned over to her friend, who was still sitting there staring out the window.

"Hey Nick you feeling alright?"

"Huh?" the fox asked, being shaken out of his thoughts.

"Yeah, fine why'd you ask Judy?" he said, looking at her with a… normal look. No smirk, no half lidded eyes, no snarky smile, just… normal. It sent shivers down her spine, and when the bunny heard him use her actual name…

"Nick what the heck is wrong with you?!" she cried, a bit too loud as Nick went into shock, ears upright, eyes open, tail bristling. The whole package.

"Nothing's wrong with me!" he yelled back, slamming his muzzle shut at how loud that was. The fox calmed down his tail by stroking it gently, smoothing his fur back down, eyes growing skitterish as his ears sunk. It was Judy's turn to cock her head in confusion, as her foxy friend sighed.

"I just- it's just… I feel like I have forgotten something important in that short time," he confessed, his tail sliding back down beside him.

"Like what?" Judy asked, continuing to drive the car down the nearly abandoned road.

"Like- I don't know, that's what I was trying to remember," he sighed again, resting his arm on the window sill. Judy tapped the steering wheel as she tried to help her friend remember.

"Was it.. something from-?"

"You know what, don't worry about it Carrots," Nick said, patting her head absentmindedly as he stared out the window again. Judy sighed at her nickname, a lot more relieved than she thought she'd be at hearing it.

"Ok then,"

* * *

The two shortly arrived at the ZPD, brushing off Nick's strange behaviour as the fox recovered his usual snarky self. They got to the first aid as quickly as they could, and thankfully there wasn't many animals in it, since it was quite late at night.

Nick got his paw bandaged, so that he could at least put a little pressure on it, meaning he could limp a little to move. Judy also got her arm treated, as the doctor asked how she had gotten it.

"Ummm,"

"Well you see," the two had chuckled nervously at that, Nick rubbing the back of his neck as Judy looked away.

"Was it a claw mark?"

"Something or other…" Judy dwindled off, really not wanting to put Nick in a bad light as the fox seemed guilty enough already. Besides, the doctor wouldn't know, since she was a little old deer, meaning she was prey, which would _not_ help their predicament.

"These look like a- fox's claw marks!" the little deer gasped (who, just so you know, was called Dr Derby) looked up with such accusation at Nick, that it made his ears sink.

"Umm, that was an accident Miss-"

"Let the victim talk!" That hurt. A lot. Nick winced at what the deer just called Judy, as he looked over at his friend pleadingly to help him out. The 'victim' looked back with worried eyes, as all she could muster were a couple of mumbles.

"Well- ehm- It _was_ an accident, because you see, I saved him from falling over, and he accidentally, uh, grabbed me too tight, but it was an accident, I swear!" she stuttered, as Miss Derby looked on unimpressed.

"Are you sure? Because if he is making you say that Dog forbid-!"

"Nono! No-nothing like that! Nick would never… he's my best friend, and partner! We're a team, so he would never in a million years do that," Judy cried, desperately trying to sooth the old deer. Nick sighed in relief at her explanation, more of the part that she trust him that much, and more that he wouldn't get arrested ehm, again, ehm, from hurting her in any way.

"Oh, you may think! But predators, they're going bonkers! And no one can blame the Nighthowlers, no, they are attacking! Did you see that mass murder-!"

"We're investigating, the mass murder," Judy deadpanned, hoping to cut the deer off of her reputing against her friend, who was frowning unimpressed at the doctor's display.

"Well, then you out of all mammals should know that now, the predators are rebelling! It is only a matter of time before your fox friend joins them, and maybe you'll reconsider my proposition when he is gnawing on your neck…" the deer continued, making Nick steaming mad. And that, is pretty mad considering he barely showed his emotions outside of himself.

"Now hold the phone! I, for one, would never, and I mean _never_ rebel by _killing_ in _cold blood_! Especially _not_ my _best friend!_ " Nick yelled into the doctor's face, making her gasp, "Second, I am actually _still here_ in this _room_ with you, and you don't seem to give a _sheep_ about what I think, or what, in reality, I would actually _do_! Do you not think it unfair that I don't have my say in something that is, in all fact, about _my species_!" he finished, his claws nearly completely out, even shocking Judy a little. But she knew Nick. He would never actually draw any blood. He outsmarted and rung rings around animals, that or he intimidated them, but he would never do anything to an innocent mammal. Well, apart from scam them, but… that's another topic.

The small deer stood quivering beneath him, petrified eyes staring up at the fox towering above her, as Judy sat behind them on the medical bed.

However, slowly, the deer's eyes narrowed into such hostility that only then did Nick realize his actions. The fox slowly slunk back, hostile pose slinking away, as he waited fearfully of what the deer would do next.

"You-!" she started, practically quivering in rage as she clutched her hands in tight fists, "have _no right_ to do that to me! I, am a doctor, and assaulting a doctor is againt the law!" she basically screamed in Nick face, as the fox flinched, ears falling back slightly. Judy gulped at what Nick was about to say next.

"Well, assaulting an _officer_ is _also_ against the law, which, in fact, is what _you_ just did!" the fox retorted, as he struggled to regain his coolness. "Also, I _am_ the law, in case you haven't noticed! _I_ didn't go through all that training to have some lousy useless deer tell me like she can tell me something I _don't know_!" he finished, seething as he jabbed a finger into the deer's chest.

"Nick… I think you need to calm down and-"

"You. Are. A. _Monster_!" Ms Derby seethed back at him, and without another word, she shoved him out of the way and ran out of the room, with Nick huffing in satisfaction afterwards.

"Yeah, come back next time when you have your conversion!" he called to the swinging door, and with that, she was gone. Nick then turned to Judy, who had her arms crossed and was thumping her foot on the floor at full speed.

"I…"

"You what? Because right now, you're probably _this_ close to being fired, Nick Wilde, and I mean _this_ ," the bunny indicated, pulling her pointer finger to her thumb "close. And I don't know _how_ I am going to defend you from Bogo! I mean was that _really_ necessary, Nick, really?"

"Yes!" the fox cried, cutting Judy short as she realized he was trying to cut in. Nick panted before continuing, "It _was_. I just, I don't know, couldn't get a hold of myself. I just don't want to go back to living with Zootopia's judgement again, and it, just scared me. Judy you _have_ to believe me. I don't want to go back," he gulped, and only then did Judy see how vulnerable he was, with his wide pleading eyes, ears against his head. She couldn't rebuke that explanation, and so all the bunny did was sigh.

"You're right. You're absolutely right," the bunny said, slowly walking up to him and hanging her head.

"I just, don't want you to get fired, or stop being my partner. You are the best, and I'm just worried about you,"

"Aww, Carrots, don't you worry about me, I can handle myself," Nick said, scratching her between the ears, making her sigh yet again.

"But I do. And you don't help, giving me all the more reasons to worry about you," Judy laughed a little, but softly, as Nick gave her a quick hug, which was surprising coming from him.

"Well, I'll try not to, Fluff, I'll try not to,"

"Ok, but you have to keep your word for it, or else I'll wring your-"

"Wilde, Hopps! My office! _Now_!" Bogo's voice startled the two, as they looked up at the microphone in the first aid room. Nick winced as Judy started at the sudden call, and the two looked at each other.

"Guess we should start getting used to that, huh?"

* * *

"You're fired, Wilde,"

"What?!" the two screamed, both gaping up at their chief, waiting for him to break out and say 'I'm joking!' kind of thing. But no, not happening.

"Why?!" Judy asked the more reasonable question, as all Nick could do was stare up at the buffalo with canines showing in his gaping gesture.

"You, have assaulted a first aid doctor, that was attending to your needs! That, is no reason to yell at her, and she didn't give any reason for you to physically assault her in any way!" Bogo yelled back at them, making Judy flinch.

"Now wait just one minute! I barely even touched her! And _she_ was the one that started that argument, and started assaulting an _officer_ ," Nick cried up at him, regaining his composure as he looked up at his chief with ferocious eyes. No way would he go down like this, through some stuck up, old, biased deer that can't keep her mouth shut.

"You are _off duty_ ," Bogo growled at the two, sparking a great ferocity in Judy.

"Hang on, we aren't _off duty_! We just investigated the crime scene, and fund evidence!" Judy said, barely managing her temper.

"What possible evidence could you have?"

"What? We have-"

"The case has been sorted, solved and the criminal mastermind is behind bars," the chief deadpanned, startling the two friends even more.

"How-?"

"By one of our oldest recruits, who is still, quite young, and quite the cop," Bogo said, whistling for the door to be opened.

"Now, I was going to break the news either way, but since Officer Wilde had broken his silence," Bogo glared at Nick, who abliged to return the stare with daggers, "I will introduce the case solver now. Hopps, _Wilde_ , I'd like you to meet, Acinon Jubatus. Also known as Ace," Bogo said, nearly grinning, as a male cheetah stepped into the room, chest puffed out with half lidded eyes and a half, tight smile. He wore the usual police officer uniform, with his long, thin tail snaking around his legs.

"So this is the guy who 'saved us'," Nick said, using making quotation marks with his fingers as he said 'saved us'. Judy dug him in the ribs, as Bogo sent him and even harsher glare.

"So, who is the criminal?" Judy asked, a little too forcefully as she tried to sound calm and happy. Ace looked at her, a calm look on his face as he scanned her. Nick looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, it turned out to be the leader of the Predator Activist group. You know, the black wolf, Trevis Canils? The guy who seemed to want to stop predator bullying? He-"

"Yeah we get it, bud. So, he is behind bars then?" Nick asked, scuffing his uninjred paw on the ground, which was his right. Bogo looked at him with such surprise it hurt Nick a little, as did Ace and Judy.

"Just asking," the fox mumbled, looking back at the ground as he finished watching the other officers. His ears sunk back as he remember being fired, sighing as his tail sweeped low. And Bogo sensed his change in demeanour, but of course, didn't seem to care.

"Well, I will be asking for that badge them, Wilde," Nick gulped at that, as Bogo held his hand out, staring at the cornered fox as he sighed yet again, ears plastered against his head. _Well, this is goodbye, Trevor (his badge's name). It's been good, I'll miss you,_ Nick thought, as he began to unbuckle his badge.

"Now hold on just a second Chief, he can't-!"

"Quiet Hopps, or else you'll be kissing your badge goodbye too! Badge, Wilde!"

"But, can't he have at least one more chance, please? He'll be better I promise-"

"Hopps!"

"But-!"

"It's okay, Judy. I deserve this anyway," Nick said, as he stared at the badge in his paws, not bearing to meet Judy's confused and betrayed look. How many times had she warned him about his behaviour, and how far he could go before he would be fired. Well, a lot, but it was too late now, and Nick had to accept the consequences. He always did, which was one of the parts of his personality which Judy loved so much.

He wasn't a sore loser.

"Well, goodbye badge, it's been a long run, huh?" Nick chuckled then sighed, as Bogo grunted. The red mammal gulped as he started to hand over his badge, when then…

"I am sorry to interrupt, but may I daresay, Chief, that you should give the old chap one last chance," Ace cut in, as he stepped forward. Nick whipped his head around at the cheetah's proposition, amazed he had stood up for him. The chief also seemed to be as surprised as Nick, as he looked at the cheetah with wide eyes.

"Officer Jubatus, with all due respect, this fox has crossed the line all too many times. He has been given more second chances than I have fur!"

"Sir, I sense good in this fox. Please, give him one more chance, I'll take the pair, show them how the case was solved. Then, afer I'm done, if he does anything, I'll give him to you to handle, and won't rebel your choice. Just this once, sir, please?" Ace begged, as he stepped between Judy and Nick, right in front of Bogo. Nick stared on with amazed eyes, as he looked back at the Chief, with eyes pleading, just as much as Judy. The buffalo sighed a long, heavy sigh of defeat, as he looked back up at his recruits.

"Just, this, once, Wilde. You will not be given _any_ more chances after this, am I clear?"

"Crystal clear," Nick breathed, as he hastily repinned his badge to his pocket. Judy looked like she was going to burst with relief. Ace, was as cool as could be.

 _Cool cat who stole_ our _case_ , thought Nick bitterly as he remembered the cat already having thrown the criminal behind bars. But, it was the all predator leader…? How could?

"I will answer all of your questions once we get to my office," Ace said, as if reading Nick's mind. The fox shook his head, as he got up along with his best friend, and they quickly exited Bogo's office.

Not before a quick 'thank you' and 'we won't let you down' mentioned over the top cop's shoulders.

"So, thank you _so_ much, Ace, really, we appreciate that save,"

"Not at all," the cheetah replied, as he closed the door, turning to continue to his office.

"It was my pleasure," he said calmly, English accent thick and heavy. Nick sniffed a little, and remembered.

"So, how did you-?"

"I will show you. Come, to my office,"

* * *

 **Aww chief why did you have to ruin the fluffy moment? WHY THE FLUFFY MOMENT WHY!? *breaks into sobbing tears* ehm, hehe. So yeah, hope you enjoyed this chapter, and heads up I will concentrate on this story more as it is my main story, so yeah, expect more from this than TOWT.**

 **Until next time, Carrots!**

 **P.S Sorry, didn't know it was your blueberry, so here, I'll give one to you! Freshly bought from Judy's parent's store!**


	6. Answers That Make No Sense

"Wow, talk about an office!" Nick breathed as the three mammals arrived at Ace's office. It was a ginormous office compared to Nick and Judy's, and everything was in tip top order, with everything neat and tidy, the whole place being spotless.

"For once you are actual right, Nick," Judy agreed, as they walked up to Ace who was sitting at his desk and loading something up on to his laptop, which was most likely the case file of the investigation, and Judy had quite a lot of questions about it.

"Why that hurts my poor heart, Hopps, it hurts right, here," Nick whined, jabbing his chest with his pointer finger, making Judy roll her eyes at his acting.

"Ehm," Ace coughed into his fist, making the two look over at him in surprise, "If you are quite done, I would like to show you the case. Unless, of course, you don't want to see it,"

"Nononono! O-of course we want to see it," Judy laughed forcefully, as the two stood side by side next to the cheetah, on either side of him.

"Good," was all Ace said afterwards, as he opened a folder on his desktop, as Nick and Judy leaned in slightly.

"Well I'll start with the murderer. Trevis Canils. Black wolf, age thirty-five, leader of the predator activist group that try to stop any last remnants of cruelty to predators. He was at the crime scene at the time, and with further investigation found to disappear during his 'peaceful' protest. As we look at the cameras," Ace indicated, as he opened a video file, which turned out to be security camera recordings. He then clicked play, and continued explaining as it played, "you can see that he went through the shop door, and headed over to the stationary and movies section, where he then disappears through an out of bounds emergency exit. This leads him outside, where, we found some of the weapons that were used in the massacre,"

"But that can't be right, you can't just accuse someone of murder because they were _where_ the weapons were found!" Nick cut in angrily, as the cheetah looked at him impatiently.

"Yes, but I wasn't done. You see, we found paw pad prints on the guns. And they were of a wolf,"

"But-!"

"It was outside, you said? Like, around the back?" Judy cut Nick off with a stern glare, making the fox puff. However, she had gotten Ace's attention, as he urged her to go on.

"But we have found that one of the witness' show shadows on the beams!"

"Ahh, that was merely just a distraction. They used the positioning of light to make it _look_ like they were on the beams, when in fact they were on the ground. Sneaky I know," Ace explained.

"But there were bullet holes and notches in one particular part of the beams! And that couldn't have been a coincidence, there wasn't any other marks on any other part!" Judy protested, trying her best to protect the case, or in her mind _her_ case.

"Bunny's got a point you know, _Ace_ ," Nick said, backing his friend up in her relentless battle to win. Judy blinked him a thanks, and all the fox did was enlarge his smirk by three percent.

"Yes but, that could have been another sign of them trying to conceive you," The cheetah insisted, which rose a few eyebrows of the room.

"But you can't _prove_ that!"

"It was recorded on the cameras,"

"It was _not_!" Nick cried indignantly, as he glared at Ace.

"But it was my dear fellow, it was,"

"Let's see it then, hot shot!" Nick urged, as the fox looked like he wanted to fight right there and then. Judy shot him a warning glance to keep his cool, and the fox much obliged, not before sending Judy his own 'you-know-how-I-get' look, making the bunny roll her eyes.

"Well, I would love to, but you see…" Ace began, his tail twitching and feet shifting nervously, as he eyes the pair warily, "But the chief took the file out, and removed it for further investigation,"

"What more could you possibly investigate?' Judy asked, her foot thumping slightly in irritation, earning a chuckle from Nick.

"Well, uh, why he, the criminal, even did it in the first place, or, if he had any accomplishes!" Ace said, nodding in confirmation at his excuse. However, he was still slightly shifty, as Nick's eyes narrowed, examining the British police officer up and down, as if he could find what the cheetah was _really_ thinking.

"You okay there, _chap_ ," Nick asked, as the cheetah glanced at him warily.

"Fine, just fine," Ace replied, coughing into his fist as Judy eyed him. He _was_ very suspicious, even though he was a cop himself.

"Um, so l did you interview any witnesses?" the bunny continued casually, as she kept staring at the cheetah out of the corner of her eyes. At that question he perked up, nodding excitedly.

"Oh yes, there is actually this fox girl who is in custody for some fraud, and she is a renowned member for the predator activist group!" he tapped his chin, trying to remember as Nick's blood turned cold, ear twitching back as Judy nearly burst out laughing at his sudden stillness, knowing he was expecting to hear someone very familiar.

"Ah, yes her name was a typical fox's name, apparently she hated it. Um, Judy, sorry no, Rudy?"

"Ruby," Nick muttered, as the cheetah looked at him excitedly yet again.

"Exactly! How did you know?"

"Uh, I had, an um, a-"

"Run in with her in the interrogation room," Judy cut in, saving Nick from the awkward explanation. The fox sent her a thankful glance, as Ace seemed to take the bait. Wow, that made it sound evil, huh?

"Oh, then you should know Pawera is a renowned- I mean, _was_ a renowned member of the group, but however left a short time ago. However she is still deeply respected by them, whenever they meet on the street,"

"She was?" Nick swallowed, as he felt Judy's eyes on him. He knew what she was thinking, and he was _not_ looking forward to it.

"Well, I guess you solved the case well, Ace, but we best be off. So, where did they leave Ruby?"

"Oh, they let her go, with a fine of course, but she is free. She lives on Brushtail Street down near this restaurant called Zootopian Food Journey, which is quite a famous restaurant. It sells the _best_ smoked fish, I can tell you that. I went with my mother when I was eleven, and I loved it from the very beginning! You see…" Ace said on and on, while Judy gave Nick the 'let's-leave-before-he-traps-us,' signal, and the two silently back up, while the unaware cheetah continued his rambling.

Judy quietly closed the door with a click, and then turned to her friend, which was trying his best not to make eye contact with her.

"I know what you're going to say, so don't bother saying it,"

"We _have_ to crack this case properly, Nick! We can't just through an innocent mammal behind jail, while a mass murderer runs loose!" Judy cried, making the fox sigh.

"You sure about that Carrots? 'Cus, that _is_ what Bellweather did for a while," Nick's laugh dwindled off as Judy glared at him.

"We are _going_ to Brushtail Street to find her, whether you like it or not,"

* * *

 **Hehe, oh Nick, I am so sorry but torturing you has become my leisure time hobby. Huh? Oh, hey there peeps! Wassup? Yeah, I know, I know, this was a** ** _pretty_** **short chapter, but hey, it was something?**

 **I am getting better at updating quicker. At least to me.**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and stay tuned for the Return of Ruby! Huh, alliteration...**

 **Carrots!**

 **P.S: Great news for you guys! I have created a forum just for Zootopia, and y'all can come along to geek out with me and discuss my stories! It's simply called 'Zooscussion' and I encourage you to come along, as I will be asking any ideas you have for my stories.**


	7. Long Time No See?

Brushtail wasn't too far away from the ZPD, however they did have to take a car, because it would have been impossible to walk the whole way.

"Hey, Carrots, you know we don't have an address, right? We have the street, but no address, and who knows _how_ far it is down the street, it could go on forever!" Nick complained, as they turned into Brushtail, with Nick at the wheel.

"Actually…"

"Carrots…" Nick warned, as he looked down at a smug rabbit.

"I do. I kind of researched where she lived, you know, in case, you wanted to see her again," Judy explained hurridly as she typed in the address on the ZPS. The bunny then clicked it into place on the window screen, as Nick furrowed his eyebrows together questioningly as he glanced back down at her.

"Okay, so _maybe_ I wanted to hook you two up,"

"Rabbit!" Nick yelped, as he braked on the car, nearly sailing head first into the dashboard. The fox quickly looked up, started on again and pulled over, as Judy tried to calm her beating heart.

"Ok I'm sorry! Gees, you _did_ seem to like her though…" the bunny huffed indignantly as Nick look down at her with an unimpressed frowned.

"You can't deny it!"

"What is it with you Carrots? Why are you out to ruin my personal life?" the fox whined as they started back down the road.

"I'm not," she huffed, staring ahead as she folded her arms.

"Are you sure? Because you can't _make_ me like someone," Nick continued whining, as they drove past a set of lights, just making it before it turned red.

"Well, you've already done that yourself. I'm just trying to find you some love," Judy replied, as she kept an eye out for the house. It was at the end of Zootopia, City, on, let's say the outskirts, although it really wasn't counted as it. It was where most mammals such as coyotes and foxes lived, since they had been excluded (really banned) from Zootopia after it was suspected that a fox murdered their Mayor a while back during the Prey Revolution, so as safety precautions, they booted them to the side. You had to understand, the mayor's wife was still in deep grieving, so you can't really blame them at the time. That's how the 'you-can't-trust-a-fox' fad started, and had obviously died down a little since, but still left a nasty scar on the species. There had even been rumours that they created a type of collar to place on the foxes, just to stop them for going 'savage'. Of course it was only just a myth. It had to be.

"There!" Judy pointed, and Nick quickly spun the wheel so they quickly skidded into a driveway. The car behind them slammed the brake, and then started to beep at them loudly.

"Sorry!" the bunny called out, sticking her head through the window to look out. The driver, a tiger, just shook his head and continued on wards, annoyed at how bad the police's driving skills were. Sure enough, Judy just had to point it out.

"Nick, you need to work on your driving skills," However, Nick just sent her a hard glare, as she jumped out of the car happily. The fox stayed inside for several seconds, calming himself down a bit as he was afraid his heart would break out of his rib cage.

"Are ya coming?" Judy cried over her shoulder, looking through the window screen at her friend.

"Yeah, I'm coming, I'm coming," Nick grumbled, stepping out of the car and shutting it softly. He really wasn't looking forward to seeing the vixen again, so he tried to delay it slightly by walking slowly up to where Judy was impatiently waiting.

Judy didn't even hesitate and quickly rapped on the door lightly, as Nick glanced around to take a better view of the house. It was a little miserable, but reminded the fox of where he had grown up, with a light blue roof, and faded yellow bricks. There was a sight of dirty purple curtains, behind the shattered shutters, and chipped window panes. The front door also set the mood, as it looked very sad since the wood had rotted away a little. A quick look and you could tell the vixen hadn't even bothered to touch her front garden, where the grass seemed to have been randomly mowed by an ancient lawnmower, the grass having bits and pieces sticking up. And don't get Nick started on how many weeds there were. Overall, it was a typical house in Slyndon, the outskirt suburb from Zootopia.

"Hello? Is anyone home?" Judy cried out, as Nick walked over to peek through the window.

 _Drat, it's covered by that dusty curtain,_ he thought, trying to find a crack in it to peep inside. Unfortunately there wasn't. Fortunately, there was the sound of footsteps and the a quick sniff from the inside, which sent Nick hastily returning to his place beside Judy.

"Who is it?" a sharp question asked from behind the sad door.

"Er, the police!" Judy quickly replied. There was some muffled speaking that followed afterwards, and then the sound of rusty chains slipping away from the door. It slowly creaked open, as a narrowed eyed animal peered out inquisitively at the pair.

"What's Ruby down this time?" a masculine voice inquired angrily, making the cops jump. So it wasn't Ruby that had answered the door. She must have company in this miserable house.

"Uh, nothing, you see sir we have come to simply ask her a few-"

"If she ain't done nothin' then scram," the stranger interrupted sharply, proceeding to slam the door in Judy's face, making the bunny start in surprise.

"Well, this is typical," Nick murmured, not without a bit of humour, as Judy quickly regained herself, face hardening as she slammed the door with her fist repeatedly.

"Open up! You do _not_ do that to a officer of the law!" she yelled at the door, making Nick watch on in mild interest through lazy eyes.

"This is Slyndon, Fluff. Don't expect anything courteous,"

"Courteous?! I merely expect a little _manners,_ nothing much!" She kicked the door in frustration. Suddenly the two heard some more speaking, making Judy pause in her outrage to listen.

"Who was at the door John?"

"Oh, no one important, Rubes,"

" _Who_?"

"Nothin' important!"

"It's the police, isn't it?"

"…"

"Alright, I'll handle it," The door opened up wih another creak, as the familiar face of Ruby poked out.

"Well well, if it ain't the Terrific Two. What brings you here?" she smirked in recognition, opening the door a little wider.

"If it isn't the IFur Importer. We were just talking about you," Nick quickly retorted, making Judy roll her eyes. Ruby just dropped her eyelids, unimpressed.

"We're here to question you about a, massacre," Judy interrupted hastily, eyeing Nick to stay quiet. She needed to get a few answers out of Ruby before she could allow her partner to annoy her enough so that she wouldn't answer even if a savage jaguar were to be gnawing on her tail.

"What, the one at the shops? I wasn't even there! The only thing I can answer is that that wasn't a good shop anyway" the vixen laughed at that, leaning on the doorway.

Judy just stared at her, waiting for the fox's laughs to die down. The bunny could see how Nick was trying to pull down a smile tugging at his lips. _Dumb fox…_

"No, we are asking about something a little different, something you can answer. It's about the oone who was accused of pulling it off. His name is, Trevis. Trevis Canils. Heard of him?"

"I-" Ruby started, staring at them.

"What's wrong, bunny got your tongue?" Nick chuckled at his little joke, as Ruby sent a glare of burning fire towards him.

"What about him?"

"You do know he was the first suspect,"

"He isn't a _suspect_ anymore, fluff! He's in _jail!_ The case is closed, apparently he was behind it all. I personally don't believe that…" Ruby cut in bitterly. Apparently she had been close to the guy, the way she was acting.

"Well, if you don't then you'll help us, because that is precisely what we are trying to prove. Help us, and we'll free him, because we believe he is innocent,"

Ruby stared at Judy, her expression blank and unreadable. Judy and Nick held their breath as they waited for her response, hoping and praying that she would accept. After the vixen blinking a few times, she slowly started to nod.

"Alright, I accept. Come inside, quickly!"

* * *

"John, these are some friends of mine, Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde. Their here to get some info to save Trev," Ruby introduced the cops to the male fox, as soon as they stepped in through the doorway. John raised an eyebrow, as the trio walked into the room. Judy and Nick were actually quite speechless as Ruby closed the door behind them.

The house was definitely _not_ what they had expected, since they had to judge from the outside. The wreck that it had seemed from the street was not what you would have thought it could hold. The beautiful interior looked that it should belong to a first class apartment, not the run down house of Brushtail Street, Slyndon. It had a lot of neatly place bits of furniture, all placed nicely as if they had never been touched. The television looked first world, the couch sparkling clean with John on top of it. The peach wall looked as if it had been painted right that very morning and just recently dried. The fan glistened as it twirled beneath the ceiling, which was completely spotless. There was a small little cupboard leaning against the left wall, next to the window which curtains were beautifully tailored, looking nothing like they did from the outside.

"Some, eh, place you got here," Nick said, brushing a paw over the couch. John just snorted, as Ruby beckoned them to another door.

"Meh, it's enough for us," the vixen said once they walked into the dining room.

"You must need a lot if this is just enough," Judy murmured in wonder, as she glanced at the granite bench top.

"Ha ha, very funny," Ruby said, sitting on a nicely carved chair. "John and I don't care much for the outside. We try and keep it below the standard around here, to avoid breakages, to answer your question. Come on, I know you were thinking it," the vixen smiled at Nick and Judy's faces.

"Anyway, let's get down to business. That's why we came," Judy shook off Ruby's playful behaviour, taking out her notepad.

"Where does she keep that thing?" Ruby leaned over and whispered in Nick's ear.

"Who knows," he replied, also leaning in. "I have never been able to find out,"

"So, what do you know about Trevis Canils?"

"Judy, Judy, drop the formality. It'll hurt you hun," Ruby laughed, leaning back in her chair, arms folded behind her head.

"Your answer?"

"He's a nice guy, wouldn't do anything like that, murdering so many animals. He believes more in peace rallies than violent outbreaks, and to be honest wasn't getting anywhere being so peaceful," the vixen tutted, as the police partners exchanged glances.

"Okay, so what was his goal?"

"Goal? Of the activists? Well, more so to try and win back predators respect, y'know after Bellweather made the city loose some. Congrats by the way, on solving that case," Ruby nodded towards Judy, who's eyes lit up a little. "Anyway, yeah ever since Donagon was murdered by a so called fox, predators dignity has been going downhill. That's why Trevis set the activist club up, to try and win it back by showing how peaceful predators could be, even when going against the system,"

"What system would that be?" Nick questioned, a little confused at the explanation.

"To be honest, haven't a clue," Ruby sighed, sitting up properly.

"Trevis just kept on going about this system that was going to appear, where prey really would succeed in sending predators to the dump. Its like 'Bellweather's Revenge' kind of scenario, but somehow it isn't. Yeah, Trev had a lot of visions of doom, back then when I was apart of it. We were kind of close, which is why I was so respected," She finished sadly, with the two friends looking on.

"Well, I think that's all we need for now," Judy nodded down at her notes, a pen to her teeth.

Nick looked over her shoulder, trying to decipher what the scribbles on the paper meant. _Mmm, maybe bunny code?_

"That's cool. John'll be happy you're gone," Ruby smiled at them, with Nick smiling back.

"Boyfriend not cool with other males?" he inquired cheekily, smirk plastered on his face. Judy just smiled as she tucked her notebook away to who-knows-where.

"Well, I don't actually _have_ a boyfriend," Ruby replied nonchalantly, eyeing the ceiling.

"Wh-what?"

"John's my brother, dude. A little grouchy, but somehow related to me. Very hard to tell I know," Ruby giggled at Nick's expression of pure surprise, Judy joining in with a light chuckle. The fox's plan at taunting Ruby had very well backfired, and Nick hadn't expected it to backfire like _that_.

"Yeah, very grouchy, especially if you don't get out of my house!" a voice cried from the doorway, making the company turn to see John, in his light singlet, stomp into the kitchen.

" _Our_ house," Ruby corrected, a little irritated.

"Whatever," he grumbled, as he ushered Nick and Judy to stand, and led them to the doorway. "Now get out!"

"Hang on hang on, John, I'll handle this. You go back to your Bugby," the vixen yanked on his tail, managing to twirl the fox around before he could boot the cops out the front door.

"Whatever," was all John said, walking back and slouching back into his chair.

"Well, it was nice to see you guys again. I hope we'll see each other soon," Ruby said, turning back to the police officers who had just recovered from the shock of being shoved out of someone's house. Judy was the first to react.

"Same. It was a nice talk," the bunny nodded, as Nick looked down at her.

"And with this info, we are closer to freeing your beloved Trevor Kamils," the fox joked, looking back up at Ruby. She smiled at the mistake, but didn't laugh. She wouldn't give Nick the satisfaction.

"Goodbye, Nick,"

"See ya Ruby!" he winked, and with that the pair turned and walked back towards their car, with a new fresh lead. Ruby followed them with her gaze, a twinkle of humour as she watched Nick trying to look cool getting in the car, proceeding to bump his head. She heard Judy's laughter, as he rubbed it sourly, and then pressed on the peddles. With that, they were gone done the road, with the fresh trail to get Trevis out of jail.

* * *

 **Heyoooooooooooooo! Long time no see? Okay, okay I am evil, I've left this for a while, but I had been up to my neck in school work and, ehhhhhh, _biology_. Either way you catch my drift.**

 **So anyway, I am now on holidays, and expect more frequent fanfiction. I can't say lots and lots, just frequent, because it's my holidays too and I would want to do other things.**

 **Either way, thanks for committing to this story so far, and any inquiries you have about it, don't worry, they will all play out eventually. Until then, Ciao!**


	8. Discontinued Announcement

**Alright, so.**

 **I'll come off the bat and say it right now, I am sorry. Really, truly deeply, but let me explain my descision.**

 **So thank you all** ** _so so so_** **much for seeing this story come up to where it is, I really appreciate it. I had always dreamed of writing a fic off the original story they had planned for Zootopia.**

 **This story is very special to me, since it was my first attempt at mystery and crime. However, as much as I love it, I was quite inexperienced when I started writing it out, and hadn't planned it as thoroughly as I should, resulting in me trying to avoid updating it too much as I expanded the story. Well, over time I have slowly started forgetting the plot, and as life has gotten in the way of updating, I need to put my priorities straight and this story isn't as important as others, which really pains me to say.**

 **I may or may not return to it, to sort it out and rewrite it as I have the plot written out in the word document, but I want to commit more to my other main Zootopia fic, Two Worlds Collide as I have had it thought out more.**

 **I felt quite guilty since I hadn't given this story a closure, and it really hurts to do so, but it isn't fair on you all that I keep it hanging. Thank you all so much for favouriting, reviewing and you all who just read it, it has really contributed to my writing immensely, and shaped me into a better author.**

 **So thank you, and until then, Floof Out!**


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